NOTE: This is based on my hearing the game
on WWZN's webcast--no visuals, sorry.

Pregame:I got a batch of Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies
out of the microwave, and a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi...oh, the Celtics...

In an interview, Coach Jim O'Brien said that he
was glad the C's "were were aggressive at both ends in game 1"--but plans
to refine the aggression and cut down on turnovers. Also says they've
been doing drills to counter the refs stated intent to call travelling
violations--interview was cut short by technical glitches.

THE GAME:

First Quarter:Late word just prior to tipoff is that due to
injuries, Chicago will be without Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall, and Eddie
Robinson. Surprisingly, Jay Williams DID get into the game.
This devastation thoroughly changes the complexion of the game--like acne
for a teenager. The Bulls are left without some of their most potent
offense, and their most experienced player (Rose). The Celtics could
practically afford to start Jim O'Brien at point guard and still have a
great chance to win this game, though they went with a lineup identical
to the last game to start. Heaven help the handicappers, they probably
lost a bundle on tonight's casino game before it even started.

The Bulls started by winning the tipoff and they
buried a 3 in Pierce's face. Less than 24 seconds into the game the
first whistle came. The C's zipped it in to Battie for a dunk in
answer. The Bulls started by hoisting more 3's than the Celtics in
the opening minutes. The C's went inside repeatedly, either making
baskets or getting fouled on the way to the hoop.

Once again, the Celtics keep blowing the alley-"oops"--you'd
think they'd work on it more in practice if they're going to keep trying
it in games. The good news is that early on, Walker kept going inside
and wasn't content to park at the three point line. That's very nice
to hear.

The C's help defense was working better in the
early minutes than in the previous game, but Fred Hoiberg seemed to be
an exception to this--early on he kept getting through to the hoop and
getting fouled--he kept the Bulls in it and tied the score at 11-11.
The Bulls even pulled ahead about halfway through the first quarter.

Good news--Pierce hit his first 2 free throws!

The C's were trying--with mixed success--to run
a fast break/inside game. That was very pleasing to hear. But
there were a number of quick foul calls early on.

(Hey, Lance: VIN BAKER CHECKED IN HALFWAY
THROUGH THE 1ST!!!)

The Bulls seemed to be rebounding better than
the Good Guys as the game started. That can be nerve-wracking.
Hard to run fast breaks without the ball.

Baker's first involvement in the game was committing
a technical foul--oh well. :>(

Chicago continued to dominate on the boards throughout
the quarter.

Vin was good inside, ready to put back missed
shots, though like the rest of the team, was a bit rusty still. Free
throws weren't great for Boston, since as far as I could tell, Only Pierce
hit both his free throws in the first quarter.

The good news was that Chicago was equalling rebounds
with turnovers and under 30% shooting, otherwise they'd be ahead.

Sundov made his presence known by nailing a three
from downtown to extend the Celtics lead in the final minutes of the first
quarter. As Boston went on a 12-4 run, the first quarter ended with
the Celtics leading 31-25.

Second Quarter:Sundov opened the quarter with another long shot
to the hoop. The Celtics started running again, though the shot selection
is still questionable. Kedrick Brown showed his quickness chasing
down a long rebound at midcourt. Three minutes in, the C's led 40-31
at a timeout

Then, the C's used a zone defense to force a turnover
and create a fast break, and handed Brown a beauty of a dunk that brought
the crowd's appreciation. Unfortunately, the Bulls were still getting
a lot of rebounds. What kept the Celtics ahead is making a lot of
shots. In a matter of a minute or so the C's lead became 45-34, prompting
a Chicago timeout.

Then Pierce made a nice three in the flow of the
game. Unfortunately, the Celtics messed up their defensive assignments
on the next play and had a three player collision. They next went
and shot some more threes. But the Bulls wouldn't lay down and made
a couple of steals to come roaring back to cut the lead under 7 points.

It sounded as if when the C's were pressured,
they went to the 3 a little too fast. Since I couldn't SEE the game,
I couldn't tell if they were passing up layups or not. Even so, Pierce
was having a MUCH better game tonight just in the first half! The
Celtics were leading 53-47 with 2:58 to go in the 2nd quarter after Chicago
cut what had been a 14 point lead going into a timeout.

Shammond Williams then drew the defense and handed
off to Walker for an easy two. This was offset by another Celtics
turnover leading to a three point goal by Chicago, which was on a major
21-9 run. The second quarter ended in a close score, with the Celtics
ahead by two points, 57-55

HALFTIME:I got another few Mrs. Fields chocoalte chip
cookies, and another 2 liter bottle of Pepsi...oh, yeah, the broadcast...

There was a feature on Paul Pierce, recapping
the previous season, the trial, and the World Championships. There
was an interview with Pierce. He replied to accusations of "selfishness"
in the Worlds by pointing out he was second on the team in assists, and
stated he was "taking the shots (he) normally took" in the Worlds.
Of the trial, he described basketball as a "great distraction" from troubles,
and it gave him something to focus his attention on. He said watching
last year's NBA Finals was "most frustrating to watch--we should have been
there."

A rep from Mohegan Sun commented that there was
a "handshake deal" to bring Boston back every year in exhibition season.

Third Quarter:The C's started with a three that missed and
was rebounded by Chicago, and Hoiberg hit a shot to tie the game.
The teams traded baskets for a minute or so, then the Bulls pulled ahead,
62-61. The Bulls kept finding small holes in the Celtics defense.
The C's then found themselves playing catchup, which took a minute, to
regain a 65-64 lead. The C's offense was fine, but oddly, their defense
appeared to be weak against the Bulls. Fortunately, Chicago kept
making turnovers. Unfortunately, Tyson Chandler was having a good
game.

The C's replied by hitting solid threes--at least
the broadcasters didn't indicate they were in any way unadvised shots.
With a timeout, the Celtics lead was 73-69.

The Bulls were still getting lots of rebounds,
and making good shots--who knew Hoiberg was that accurate? Then they
watched Paul Pierce take them to school on a break with the foul.
As mentioned elsewhere, Coach O'Brien said they'd had practices geared
specifically on "not moving the pivot foot", which meant more travelling
calls on Chicago than on Boston.

Pierce nailed a fadeway three that took people's
breath away to give him 28 points in the game. The kind of shot that
Larry Bird used to drive people buggy with. On the other paw, Vin
Baker had, to this point only taken one shot--which he missed. Boy,
will Lance be ticked. He probably wishes I wasn't noticing Baker
at all. :>)

By this time, the Celtics had a timeout and the
lead 81-73. The broadcasters commented that for a stretch, Pierce
looked like he was in midseason form. Don't know if this was accurate
or "Heinsonhyperbolie" :>), but it was logical, given that he'd been playing
in the World Championships between the end of the playoffs and the preseason.

After the timeout, with 3:10 to go in the third
quarter, the game resumed with Pierce taking a well-earned rest on the
bench, and Kedrick Brown giving the C's more points. Hoiberg
continued to shoot well, garnering 16 points to this time of the game.
I wondered when the phrase "double Hoiberg" might possibly be uttered...or
at least, "guard Hoiberg".

Sundov made a rebound without even leaving his
feet. That's something no Celtics player has done for a looooong
time. Jay Williams showed he had some speed of his own, taking on
Kedrick Brown. Amazing, given he wasn't seriously expected to play.

To this point, Chicago was doing a heck of a job
keeping up, when I frankly expected the C's to have an easy victory.

The third quarter ended with the Celtics lead
cut to 88-81.

Fourth Quarter:The Bulls began with posession and a shot clock
violation. Good for us! Shammond Williams then went to the
line and hit one of two. Gotta work on those free throws. (I
love) Waltuh missed a shot, (but hey, we love him anyway). On the
other paw, Waltuh! had a nice assist to Delk on a three. Delk sounds
like he's making himself at home in Boston. Then Sundov said, "Threes?
I can shoot those!", and did just that.

Vin Baker then made a nice inside basket
to make it 97-83 Celtics lead into a timeout with 9:26 to go in the game.
(See, Lance, I DO listen...sometimes!!) Funny thing is, I seriously
expected Baker to be much more of an offensive factor. Well, it IS
only the second exhibition game...

After the timeout, Crawford made a nice floater
to make his case for staying in Chicago. Then Chicago bailed out
a bad Boston pass with a foul. The C's made it over 100-87 on yet
another three, and there was a whole bunch of 4th quarter to go.
By this time, it looked like Pierce was going to be enjoying the rest of
the game from the bench after averaging about a point a minute for 20 something
minutes.

Hoiberg then showed he knew how to shoot the three.
Apparently, it's a popular shot for both teams tonight. Not sure
why Waltuh! was shooting a three (he missed). You'd think there wasn't
any room left on the three point line. The C's realized this and
went in for a slam. By this time the score was 105-94 in favor of
Boston. Then Tyson Chandler committed a foul and got hit with
a "T" to boot. Thanks, Tyson! This brought a timeout with 5:30
to go in the game and the score at 106-94.

The C's continued shooting the three, with less
success, and Chicago ran the fast break with somewhat greater success.
Sundov then nailed another shot when he lost Chandler. J.R. Bremer
showed he could rebound, which was an improvement on several of his teammates.

The free throws for Boston were not good at all
tonight, something I personally find VERY frustrating.

The score was 109-95 with 3:40 to go. Kedrick
Brown forced a jump ball with Eddie Curry, which Curry won. After
the next set, Coach O'Brien called a timeout as Kedrick Brown went down
awkwardly on the play. It sounded bad, as Brown was helped back to
the locker room. He was reported to have a sprained right ankle.
The game resumed after a couple of minutes, but then another timeout was
called with 2:59 to go.

Afterward, Sundov was stupidly fouled while shooting
a three. Nice to see Chicago making many mistakes. He made
all three free throws, giving the Celtics their largest lead yet, and making
their free throw stats look better.

By this time, Coach O'Brien put guys he didn't
even know on the court. All the "non-roster players" were on together
at the end. 115-100 was the score by this stage of the game with
38 seconds to go.

The game quickly wound down to a close marred
only by a couple of bad plays and foul calls resulting from guys
fighting for roster position. The game ended as the Celtics won 115-104,
going 2-0 in the preseason.

Chicago played a LOT better than I expected offensively,
though I think this was mainly due to the Celtics making some defensive
miscues. Had the defense been better, the C's win by 20. Still,
I think the Bulls sound better then I originally thought, and they may
break the 30 win plateau more easily than I thought. The next game
is Tuesday night against the New Jersey Nets.